


Autumn Blossoms

by TheSphinxDen



Category: Tron: Uprising
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-19
Updated: 2018-08-19
Packaged: 2019-06-29 11:28:24
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,017
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15728487
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheSphinxDen/pseuds/TheSphinxDen
Summary: Two programs adjust to a new life outside of the Grid. A little piece I wrote to shake off some creative rust.





	Autumn Blossoms

The trail she walked quickly became spotted with shades of copper. The sun was already setting, but not to her surprise, as the seasons of this new world were just beginning to unveil their mysteries to her. It was only her second Autumn, but already it was her favorite. Never had she seen such colors before while living as a program, trapped in the cold black world of Kevin Flynn’s Grid.

Gorn stopped to take a deep breath. The scents of fall were even more marvelous than the explosions of color. Old oak wood and harvest spice made her soul dance. Yes, she could learn to love this world. Even if it meant never returning to the Grid.

Just above, between the hanging curtains of tree branches, a tall and broad figure stood. Gorn could tell by his outline and stiff posture that Tesler had not adjusted to life in the outside world as well as she. Most of the programs who made it out didn’t, and perhaps never would. It was not their nature, their place, but Gorn felt a deep connection with the bed of the Earth even if she wasn’t forged from its core.

“I wouldn’t have expected to see you here.”

Tesler turned tiredly at her voice. His face bore the stress of many sleepless nights. In that moment, Gorn felt her heart ache for him. As she allowed her gaze to take in his presence, she inwardly found him quite attractive in his new, less-intimidating outfit. Life on Earth was made even stranger for programs without their suits.

Tesler wore a soft white cotton undershirt and an oak-wood colored leather jacket that fit his shoulders rather tightly. He was a bit of an anomaly to this new world considering that the transition between realms did not bother to give him standard human proportions, but left him the towering giant that he was coded to be. His legs, long and still rather muscular, were dressed in a casual denim jean with slight discoloration around the knees. He wore mud-stained hiking boots, and to Gorn’s amused surprise they were neither black nor military-grade.

Gorn felt his dark eyes upon her. He smiled, and it was genuinely warm.

“Just needed a place to think.”

“I see. May I join you?”

A soft gleam in Tesler’s eyes gave her an answer before he spoke, but she yearned to hear the deep rumble of his voice.

“Of course.”

Gorn smiled and once again noted his eyes never leaving her. Her long black jacket covered most of her body, but something about the man’s gaze told her he wasn’t paying attention to the soft fabric. It had been that way on the Grid many cycles before the Transition came and went. After then, the two individuals had been weary to visit. It was clear, however, that Tesler was fond of her. Upon discovering her disfigurement on a routine stop to her workplace, Tesler reacted with horror. He demanded the snake who betrayed her to fix what he had done, and afterwards crushed the commander’s head between his own hands. It had been quite a scene. Crimson cubets splattered the floor of her shop like gore, and dissipated only when the rest of his headless form completely melted away in a wave of derezzolution. Needless to say, that commander never made it to the time of the great Transition.

She remembered staring at the floor, stunned. Then the general approaching her, kneeling upon one knee, and begging her forgiveness. It was clear in her mind then that her presence was more than artificial to him.

“How are you?” she walked with him. He shrugged.

“I’m doing better. I have a companion animal now.”

“Oh! I love those. I’ve gotten several over the past month.”

He turned and smiled down at her.

“His name is Thor. He’s old, like me. I got him at the shelter downtown.They have many companion creatures there, but for the life of me, I can’t remember what all of them are called.”

Gorn placed her hand on his arm, and felt him stiffen. “I understand. It’s all so new. So overwhelming.”

Tesler’s frown never ceased. “On the Grid it was just programs. We didn’t have to worry about anything else.”

“We had to worry about a lot..” Gorn felt her gaze shift to the pathway ahead. A lacework of cherry-red and gold guided them through the trees. “Certainly, it is a small price to pay to learn new things than to always be under the surveillance of Clu.”

She felt Tesler thinking. His body, now made flesh, was warm and contemplative. How such factors made her yearning to be closer to him worked, she would perhaps never understand.

“Maybe.” He put his head down and stopped. His hand looped around her arm and pulled her gently to him. “At least I can do this without getting in trouble.” Slipping that same hand down to her waist, he leaned in to kiss her thin, peach-colored lips. She met his kiss with gratitude. How long had she been waiting for it? All around them, spirits of wine-red, gold leaf, and mossy oak wood weaved their Autumn colors in celebration. A whirlwind of bright orange leaves, freshly fallen, danced in a circle around them as if performing an ancient rite. When it was over, Gorn felt his other hand on her face, palm warm. She looked at him, lips barely touching, then kissed him again. And again. Hearts pounded against the sigh of fall.

Finally, it came to rest. Gorn’s head buried in his chest, Tesler’s thunderous laughter making the trees vibrate.

“What’s so funny?” She glanced up at him, unknowing how pink her face had become. After all, programs certainly didn’t blush.

“You’re turning red.” Tesler laughed between breaths. “I’ve never seen anything like that before.”

Gorn’s peach-colored smile formed. Yes, she could get used to this world. If it meant hearing a warlord turned hermit’s laughter, then she would find her new home in this place. They finished the pathway together and never looked back.


End file.
